Yummy Tummy
New Recipe Monday in full effect. Today, Tica tackles one of her favorite foods: gumbo!
On my way home today, I kept thinking about how I wanted almost anything but chicken. I generally don't eat beef or pork, so I have a bad tendency to get into a chicken-and/or-turkey rut. Today was one of those days when I decided I'd almost rather starve than eat chicken or turkey. Guess I was just in a mood. Why don't I eat more seafood? It's not like I don't absolutely love it because I practically have seafood juice running through my veins, my parents fed us so much of it when we were kids...but I'm a little picky about it. Anyway, I knew I'd run across this recipe on Hungry Girl's website, so I thought what better time than today?
Mmm...What's cookin??
Hungry Girl, as much as I love Lisa, can be a little hit-or-miss with the recipes. Sometimes she uses way too much stuff in cans or weird fake foods. This recipe though, with my mods, totally worked for me because it was really easy. I couldn't make it taste like what Dad and Ma'dear make (no roux rousing here), but that's okay - I'll get the hang of those someday. My notes to HG's recipe are pink...
http://www.hungry-girl.com/week/weeklydetails.php?isid=1649
HG's Yumbo Gumbo
PER SERVING (1/5th of recipe, about 1 cup): 133 calories, 1.25g fat, 710mg sodium, 14g carbs, 2.5g fiber, 7g sugars, 17g protein -- POINTS® value 2*
Ingredients:
One 14.5-oz. can stewed tomatoes (not drained)
8 oz. peeled and deveined raw medium shrimp with tails removed (I used shrimp that were a little larger)
8 oz. white crab meat (about two 6-oz. cans drained) (I used the container from the Seafood counter @ Publix)
1 cup Spicy Hot V8 vegetable juice (I didn't have any, so I mixed chicken stock and some hot sauce - LOL! And I think I added 2 cups instead of just one)
1 cup frozen cut okra (1 bag of vegetable gumbo mix - the bag that was on sale had okra, onions, corn, and celery)
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 tbsp. cornstarch
2 tsp. Cajun seasoning, or more to taste (Oops, forgot to pick up @ Publix. BUT, I mixed paprika, salt, ground black pepper, red pepper flakes, chili powder, oregano, and some garlic powder)
1 tsp. Frank's RedHot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce, or more to taste (I think I used at least a tablespoon of hot sauce and it came out REALLY spicy. Think I might need to back off that a lil bit next time)
black pepper, to taste (Instead of adding more black pepper, I threw in a couple of tsps Old Bay-type seasoning)
Directions:
Bring a large pot sprayed with nonstick spray to medium heat. Add bell peppers and onion. Stirring occasionally, cook for about 3 minutes, until tender.
Add tomatoes, V8 juice chicken stock&hot sauce, and cornstarch. Stir well, making sure cornstarch dissolves completely. Cook until mixture begins to bubble. Add okra (and other veggies), Cajun seasoning, and Frank's RedHot. Stir and bring mixture to a boil.
Reduce heat to low. Cover and let simmer for 10 minutes.
Add shrimp, and continue to simmer until shrimp are cooked through, about 3 - 4 minutes. Add crab meat and 3/4 cup water. Raise heat to medium, and return to a boil.
Remove pot from heat, cover, and let thicken for 5 minutes. Season to taste with black pepper. If you like, add a little more Cajun seasoning and Frank's RedHot Old Bay-type seasoning. Enjoy!
MAKES 5 SERVINGS
Having gumbo with corn in it was definitely a lil bit of a wtf moment at the first bite - I think it breaks a gumbo rule or something. It also was a little strange not having it with rice, so I added some brown rice. And as it turned out, it was exactly what I was craving. Lots of flavor (right on the edge of being too spicy) and veryvery filling. I think my batch made more like six servings though because I used a little bit of extra liquid. I have plenty of leftovers though, so bon appetit to me for a couple of days! I love it when I can cook things that are relatively simple that taste enough like home so I feel...not so out in the world on my own.
<3
tica the rookie cook
On my way home today, I kept thinking about how I wanted almost anything but chicken. I generally don't eat beef or pork, so I have a bad tendency to get into a chicken-and/or-turkey rut. Today was one of those days when I decided I'd almost rather starve than eat chicken or turkey. Guess I was just in a mood. Why don't I eat more seafood? It's not like I don't absolutely love it because I practically have seafood juice running through my veins, my parents fed us so much of it when we were kids...but I'm a little picky about it. Anyway, I knew I'd run across this recipe on Hungry Girl's website, so I thought what better time than today?
Mmm...What's cookin??
Hungry Girl, as much as I love Lisa, can be a little hit-or-miss with the recipes. Sometimes she uses way too much stuff in cans or weird fake foods. This recipe though, with my mods, totally worked for me because it was really easy. I couldn't make it taste like what Dad and Ma'dear make (no roux rousing here), but that's okay - I'll get the hang of those someday. My notes to HG's recipe are pink...
http://www.hungry-girl.com/week/weeklydetails.php?isid=1649
HG's Yumbo Gumbo
PER SERVING (1/5th of recipe, about 1 cup): 133 calories, 1.25g fat, 710mg sodium, 14g carbs, 2.5g fiber, 7g sugars, 17g protein -- POINTS® value 2*
Ingredients:
One 14.5-oz. can stewed tomatoes (not drained)
8 oz. peeled and deveined raw medium shrimp with tails removed (I used shrimp that were a little larger)
8 oz. white crab meat (about two 6-oz. cans drained) (I used the container from the Seafood counter @ Publix)
1 cup Spicy Hot V8 vegetable juice (I didn't have any, so I mixed chicken stock and some hot sauce - LOL! And I think I added 2 cups instead of just one)
1 cup frozen cut okra (1 bag of vegetable gumbo mix - the bag that was on sale had okra, onions, corn, and celery)
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 tbsp. cornstarch
2 tsp. Cajun seasoning, or more to taste (Oops, forgot to pick up @ Publix. BUT, I mixed paprika, salt, ground black pepper, red pepper flakes, chili powder, oregano, and some garlic powder)
1 tsp. Frank's RedHot Original Cayenne Pepper Sauce, or more to taste (I think I used at least a tablespoon of hot sauce and it came out REALLY spicy. Think I might need to back off that a lil bit next time)
black pepper, to taste (Instead of adding more black pepper, I threw in a couple of tsps Old Bay-type seasoning)
Directions:
Bring a large pot sprayed with nonstick spray to medium heat. Add bell peppers and onion. Stirring occasionally, cook for about 3 minutes, until tender.
Add tomatoes, V8 juice chicken stock&hot sauce, and cornstarch. Stir well, making sure cornstarch dissolves completely. Cook until mixture begins to bubble. Add okra (and other veggies), Cajun seasoning, and Frank's RedHot. Stir and bring mixture to a boil.
Reduce heat to low. Cover and let simmer for 10 minutes.
Add shrimp, and continue to simmer until shrimp are cooked through, about 3 - 4 minutes. Add crab meat and 3/4 cup water. Raise heat to medium, and return to a boil.
Remove pot from heat, cover, and let thicken for 5 minutes. Season to taste with black pepper. If you like, add a little more Cajun seasoning and Frank's RedHot Old Bay-type seasoning. Enjoy!
MAKES 5 SERVINGS
Having gumbo with corn in it was definitely a lil bit of a wtf moment at the first bite - I think it breaks a gumbo rule or something. It also was a little strange not having it with rice, so I added some brown rice. And as it turned out, it was exactly what I was craving. Lots of flavor (right on the edge of being too spicy) and veryvery filling. I think my batch made more like six servings though because I used a little bit of extra liquid. I have plenty of leftovers though, so bon appetit to me for a couple of days! I love it when I can cook things that are relatively simple that taste enough like home so I feel...not so out in the world on my own.
<3
tica the rookie cook